"The other day, my wife was picking up our daughter from school and she heard some boys playing on the playground. As they played, she heard one of them yell, "I'm Cody Deaner!"

After she shared this with me, it really got me thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more it kind of blew me away.

When I was a kid on the playground, I remember using my imagination to be Hulk Hogan or Superman. I remember really thinking I was them. That's how much of an INFLUENCE those larger than life characters had on me.

Today, after over 16 years in wrestling, I'm now witnessing MY influence on young kids. That influence is so strong that they are pretending to be ME on the playground. When I stop to think about it ... it's mind-blowing.

As independent wrestlers, I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for the influence we have on the people we perform for. We always need to keep this in mind.

Because you never know who just might be emulating you on the playground.